Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE™ Estonia
VOON
IS AN ESTONIAN GREENTECH COMPANY THAT HAS SET ITS SIGHTS ON TRANSFORMING A MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM INTO A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Co-founded by a young entrepreneur just in her twenties, Eliise Lehtsaar, the company produces biodegradable air filters from waste wool, offering a solution to the staggering figure of nine billion plastic ventilation system filters discarded worldwide each year. For Voon, the goal is straightforward yet compelling: why continue to landfill...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ADAM ROBO
GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST BLINDNESS
Every five seconds, according to the World Health Organization, a person loses their sight, and within every minute, a child joins those statistics. Adam Robo stands as a pioneering Health Tech startup in the realm of ophthalmology, dedicated to the global mission of preventing and combating blindness. This noble cause...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
zizzl health
Igniting a Revolution in the Traditional Benefits Landscape
A recent breakthrough is making it more affordable for employers to offer high quality group health insurance benefits. At the forefront of this benefits innovation stands zizzl health, a trailblazer in the field of Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs). When the Executive Order solidifying ICHRA as an ACA-compliant health...
INNOVATION Quebec
CIRRELT
Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les réseaux d’entreprise, la logistique et le transport.
Qu’on en commun des défis tels que les changements climatiques, la pénurie de main-d’œuvre, l’organisation en santé et l’incertitude économique ? Assurément le besoin de mieux comprendre les phénomènes, de prédire les tendances avec justesse, mais aussi de concevoir des modèles et systèmes plus efficaces et résilients, durables et sécuritaires,...
INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1
NINETEEN 21
UNORTHODOX THINKING
Established in 2019, Nineteen21 is an innovative subscription business that presents savings and rewards solutions across a number of tiers. The company initially sought out to find a solution for college and varsity students to save money and maximise on the value of their limited monthly allowances. The company built...
INNOVATION Quebec
AXELYS
DÉVELOPPEMENT ET TRANSFERT DE L’INNOVATION DU QUÉBEC
UNE MISSION ESSENTIELLE POUR L’AVENIR DU QUÉBECAxelys intègre l’innovation issue de la recherche publique du Québec dans la société. Notre mission se retrouve d’ailleurs au cœur de la Stratégie québécoise de recherche et d’investissement en innovation 2022-2027, lancée en mai 2022 par le gouvernement du Québec. Chez Axelys, notre métier...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
MANAGINGLIFE
PUTTING INNOVATION IN THE HANDS OF CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS
Chronic pain affects approximately 1 in 5 people and is one of the most difficult to treat chronic conditions. It’s a leading reason people seek healthcare, use opioid medication, and go on disability. Often referred to as the silent epidemic, the burden of chronic pain carries immense costs to individuals,...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
Enduvo’s
No-Code Platform Enables Anyone With the Power to Create and Share Immersive Content Within Their Organizations and the Metaverse
Enduvo was born at the University of Illinois and initially funded through a Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES) grant. These grants support collaborative research and development between OSF Healthcare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Dr. Matt Bramlet, Justin Drawz,...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
COALITION OF PARENTS IN ESPORTS
REVOLUTIONIZING ESPORTS TOGETHER
INNOVATE® Nashville
HeroWear
Evolving work, improving life: HeroWear exosuits help prevent backpain to improve worker quality of life.
Serious back injuries in the workplace are often preventable. The logistics, manufacturing, and construction industries have long struggled to prevent worker injuries, which impact the quality of life for workers and collectively cost companies billions of dollars each year. In fact, workers in warehousing and transportation who are keeping our...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
DIG SOUTH
BUILDING THE SOUTH’S TECH FUTURE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
In 2012, with two young children at home and a bold vision for the South’s untapped potential, Stanfield Gray and his wife, Sunny Gray, launched DIG SOUTH in Charleston, South Carolina. They were driven by a simple question: Why should a child from the South have fewer opportunities than a...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
TECHARENA
WHERE INNOVATION BEGINS WITH HUMAN CONNECTION
Techarena is a Nordic-born platform for innovation and entrepreneurship that brings together thousands of founders, investors, business leaders, and policymakers every year. Through high-impact events, accelerator programs, and media channels, Techarena creates opportunities for cross-border collaboration and sustainable growth. From Local Competition to Global Platform What began in 2014 as...
INNOVATION Quebec
VECTOR INSTITUTE
CONNECTING ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY TO ADVANCE RESEARCH AND ACCELERATE RESPONSIBLE ADOPTION OF AI
As the city where Geoffrey Hinton pioneered deep learning, Toronto has deep roots in artificial intelligence research. The Vector Institute amplifies and leverages this strength in fundamental research for Ontario’s economic benefit by smoothing the path from lab discovery to commercial use. With marquee facilities for collaboration, Vector hosts...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
THINK.DIGITAL
INNOVATING TRAINING AND EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE
Think Digital is one of Australia’s leading innovative XR studios creating VR, AR and AI solutions for agriculture, to assist with marketing, education, training and on farm productivity gains. Founders Tim Gentle and Kat Bidstrup both have strong links to agriculture, having grown up in regional Australia – Kat on...
INNOVATE® Seattle
QUADRANT TECHNOLOGIES
A PHENOMENAL VOYAGE OF EMPOWERING BUSINESSES WITH CUTTING-EDGE IT SOLUTIONS
A PHENOMENAL VOYAGE OF EMPOWERING BUSINESSES WITH CUTTING-EDGE IT SOLUTIONS Founding Story: The Birth of Quadrant Resource, LLC In the year 2004, amidst a rapidly evolving technological landscape, a visionary group of IT experts came together to lay the foundation for what would eventually become Quadrant Resource, LLC DBA Quadrant...
INNOVATE™ Kitchener Waterloo
WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY
STUDENT-LED INNOVATION, POWERED BY PURPOSE AND A GENUINE DESIRE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
Students aren’t just learning about local and global challenges — they’re tackling them head-on with innovative and impactful solutions to drive change in Laurier’s campus communities in Waterloo Region, Brantford, Milton and beyond. Laurier equips students with the skills and mindset necessary to innovate with purpose, shaping the next generation...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
WUNDERMAN THOMPSON
BUILDING GROWTH FOR AMBITIOUS BRANDS
Something has changed in the last two years in Puerto Rico, and we are not talking about the pandemic. J. Walter Thompson, a pioneer agency in strategy and creativity, merged with Wunderman, a leading agency in data and technology. In 2019, Wunderman Thompson Puerto Rico was born, an agency that...
INNOVATE® Nashville
GEEQ
FROM THE VULNERABLE ECONOMY TO THE VERIFIED ECONOMY
It’s Time for a Major Change For two decades, the digital economy has been driven by growth at any cost. Platforms built fortunes by selling data first and asking forgiveness later. Success was measured by clicks and likes – often at the expense of genuine value. That playbook is collapsing....
INNOVATION Quebec
CATALIS QUEBEC
A leader in both accelerating clinical trial approval processes and fostering patient engagement in clinical research, is committed to positioning Quebec on the world stage of clinical research.
Mandated by the government and supported by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy and the Ministry of Health and Social Services, CATALIS is a seedbed of innovation in clinical research. Created in 2017, the NPO is carrying out a bold mandate to optimize Quebec’s clinical research environment and promote...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
A CENTURY-OLD BUILDING IS GETTING A WHOLE LOT SMARTER, THANKS TO SOME INNOVATIONS DRIVEN BY AI
A CENTURY-OLD BUILDING IS GETTING A WHOLE LOT SMARTER, THANKS TO SOME INNOVATIONS DRIVEN BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA. The 101-year-old dentistry and pharmacy centre is one of the first buildings you see when you come onto the University of Alberta’s North Campus. Right now, the...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
XElement Technology
TACKLING THE CHALLENGES OF WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT: XELEMENT TECHNOLOGY LEADS THE WAY
TACKLING THE CHALLENGES OF WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT: XELEMENT TECHNOLOGY LEADS THE WAY As climate change accelerates, the effects on our environment become more pronounced. Rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns, and dwindling resources create a host of problems, with water quality being acritical concern. Warmer temperatures and oxygen depletion disrupt the...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
Denmark Technical College
Reimagining the Rural College Landscape
Since 1947, Denmark Technical College has been a lifeline for education and economic mobility in South Carolina’s rural corridor. Established as a training center for African American veterans returning from World War II, Denmark Tech has grown into a proud HBCU with a legacy of service, resilience and transformation. For...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
FOUNDER INSTITUTE
Since Its Inception In 2009, The Founder Institute Has Always Maintained One Guiding Principle; “There Are A Lot Of Big Problems In The World, And We Are Here To Help Founders Build Companies That Will Solve Them.”
OriginsFrom its Silicon Valley origins, Co-founders Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan have built an unparalleled global network of over 5,000 Portfolio Companies, across 200 cities with the largest mentor network in the world of 21,000 Mentors, innovators, investors and ecosystem builders. With chapters on every continent except Antarctica and $30B...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
SMARTGREEN
CONNECTING EVERYTHING
CONNECT TO THE FUTURESMARTGREEN TECHNOLOGY FOR SMARTCITIESWe create solutions to connect devices and sensors to the cities through mesh network infrastructure. 1998 – The Beginning of a New Era and the HistoryThe history of Smartgreen begins in 1998 in Brazil when its founders participated in a project called Rede Omega,...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
VOON
IS AN ESTONIAN GREENTECH COMPANY THAT HAS SET ITS SIGHTS ON TRANSFORMING A MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM INTO A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Co-founded by a young entrepreneur just in her twenties, Eliise Lehtsaar, the company produces biodegradable air filters from waste wool, offering a solution to the staggering figure of nine billion plastic ventilation system filters discarded worldwide each year. For Voon, the goal is straightforward yet compelling: why continue to landfill...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ADAM ROBO
GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST BLINDNESS
Every five seconds, according to the World Health Organization, a person loses their sight, and within every minute, a child joins those statistics. Adam Robo stands as a pioneering Health Tech startup in the realm of ophthalmology, dedicated to the global mission of preventing and combating blindness. This noble cause...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
zizzl health
Igniting a Revolution in the Traditional Benefits Landscape
A recent breakthrough is making it more affordable for employers to offer high quality group health insurance benefits. At the forefront of this benefits innovation stands zizzl health, a trailblazer in the field of Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs). When the Executive Order solidifying ICHRA as an ACA-compliant health...
INNOVATION Quebec
CIRRELT
Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les réseaux d’entreprise, la logistique et le transport.
Qu’on en commun des défis tels que les changements climatiques, la pénurie de main-d’œuvre, l’organisation en santé et l’incertitude économique ? Assurément le besoin de mieux comprendre les phénomènes, de prédire les tendances avec justesse, mais aussi de concevoir des modèles et systèmes plus efficaces et résilients, durables et sécuritaires,...
INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1
NINETEEN 21
UNORTHODOX THINKING
Established in 2019, Nineteen21 is an innovative subscription business that presents savings and rewards solutions across a number of tiers. The company initially sought out to find a solution for college and varsity students to save money and maximise on the value of their limited monthly allowances. The company built...
INNOVATION Quebec
AXELYS
DÉVELOPPEMENT ET TRANSFERT DE L’INNOVATION DU QUÉBEC
UNE MISSION ESSENTIELLE POUR L’AVENIR DU QUÉBECAxelys intègre l’innovation issue de la recherche publique du Québec dans la société. Notre mission se retrouve d’ailleurs au cœur de la Stratégie québécoise de recherche et d’investissement en innovation 2022-2027, lancée en mai 2022 par le gouvernement du Québec. Chez Axelys, notre métier...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
MANAGINGLIFE
PUTTING INNOVATION IN THE HANDS OF CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS
Chronic pain affects approximately 1 in 5 people and is one of the most difficult to treat chronic conditions. It’s a leading reason people seek healthcare, use opioid medication, and go on disability. Often referred to as the silent epidemic, the burden of chronic pain carries immense costs to individuals,...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
Enduvo’s
No-Code Platform Enables Anyone With the Power to Create and Share Immersive Content Within Their Organizations and the Metaverse
Enduvo was born at the University of Illinois and initially funded through a Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES) grant. These grants support collaborative research and development between OSF Healthcare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Dr. Matt Bramlet, Justin Drawz,...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
COALITION OF PARENTS IN ESPORTS
REVOLUTIONIZING ESPORTS TOGETHER
INNOVATE® Nashville
HeroWear
Evolving work, improving life: HeroWear exosuits help prevent backpain to improve worker quality of life.
Serious back injuries in the workplace are often preventable. The logistics, manufacturing, and construction industries have long struggled to prevent worker injuries, which impact the quality of life for workers and collectively cost companies billions of dollars each year. In fact, workers in warehousing and transportation who are keeping our...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
DIG SOUTH
BUILDING THE SOUTH’S TECH FUTURE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
In 2012, with two young children at home and a bold vision for the South’s untapped potential, Stanfield Gray and his wife, Sunny Gray, launched DIG SOUTH in Charleston, South Carolina. They were driven by a simple question: Why should a child from the South have fewer opportunities than a...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
TECHARENA
WHERE INNOVATION BEGINS WITH HUMAN CONNECTION
Techarena is a Nordic-born platform for innovation and entrepreneurship that brings together thousands of founders, investors, business leaders, and policymakers every year. Through high-impact events, accelerator programs, and media channels, Techarena creates opportunities for cross-border collaboration and sustainable growth. From Local Competition to Global Platform What began in 2014 as...
INNOVATION Quebec
VECTOR INSTITUTE
CONNECTING ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY TO ADVANCE RESEARCH AND ACCELERATE RESPONSIBLE ADOPTION OF AI
As the city where Geoffrey Hinton pioneered deep learning, Toronto has deep roots in artificial intelligence research. The Vector Institute amplifies and leverages this strength in fundamental research for Ontario’s economic benefit by smoothing the path from lab discovery to commercial use. With marquee facilities for collaboration, Vector hosts...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
THINK.DIGITAL
INNOVATING TRAINING AND EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE
Think Digital is one of Australia’s leading innovative XR studios creating VR, AR and AI solutions for agriculture, to assist with marketing, education, training and on farm productivity gains. Founders Tim Gentle and Kat Bidstrup both have strong links to agriculture, having grown up in regional Australia – Kat on...
INNOVATE® Seattle
QUADRANT TECHNOLOGIES
A PHENOMENAL VOYAGE OF EMPOWERING BUSINESSES WITH CUTTING-EDGE IT SOLUTIONS
A PHENOMENAL VOYAGE OF EMPOWERING BUSINESSES WITH CUTTING-EDGE IT SOLUTIONS Founding Story: The Birth of Quadrant Resource, LLC In the year 2004, amidst a rapidly evolving technological landscape, a visionary group of IT experts came together to lay the foundation for what would eventually become Quadrant Resource, LLC DBA Quadrant...
INNOVATE™ Kitchener Waterloo
WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY
STUDENT-LED INNOVATION, POWERED BY PURPOSE AND A GENUINE DESIRE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
Students aren’t just learning about local and global challenges — they’re tackling them head-on with innovative and impactful solutions to drive change in Laurier’s campus communities in Waterloo Region, Brantford, Milton and beyond. Laurier equips students with the skills and mindset necessary to innovate with purpose, shaping the next generation...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
WUNDERMAN THOMPSON
BUILDING GROWTH FOR AMBITIOUS BRANDS
Something has changed in the last two years in Puerto Rico, and we are not talking about the pandemic. J. Walter Thompson, a pioneer agency in strategy and creativity, merged with Wunderman, a leading agency in data and technology. In 2019, Wunderman Thompson Puerto Rico was born, an agency that...
INNOVATE® Nashville
GEEQ
FROM THE VULNERABLE ECONOMY TO THE VERIFIED ECONOMY
It’s Time for a Major Change For two decades, the digital economy has been driven by growth at any cost. Platforms built fortunes by selling data first and asking forgiveness later. Success was measured by clicks and likes – often at the expense of genuine value. That playbook is collapsing....
INNOVATION Quebec
CATALIS QUEBEC
A leader in both accelerating clinical trial approval processes and fostering patient engagement in clinical research, is committed to positioning Quebec on the world stage of clinical research.
Mandated by the government and supported by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy and the Ministry of Health and Social Services, CATALIS is a seedbed of innovation in clinical research. Created in 2017, the NPO is carrying out a bold mandate to optimize Quebec’s clinical research environment and promote...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
A CENTURY-OLD BUILDING IS GETTING A WHOLE LOT SMARTER, THANKS TO SOME INNOVATIONS DRIVEN BY AI
A CENTURY-OLD BUILDING IS GETTING A WHOLE LOT SMARTER, THANKS TO SOME INNOVATIONS DRIVEN BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA. The 101-year-old dentistry and pharmacy centre is one of the first buildings you see when you come onto the University of Alberta’s North Campus. Right now, the...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
XElement Technology
TACKLING THE CHALLENGES OF WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT: XELEMENT TECHNOLOGY LEADS THE WAY
TACKLING THE CHALLENGES OF WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT: XELEMENT TECHNOLOGY LEADS THE WAY As climate change accelerates, the effects on our environment become more pronounced. Rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns, and dwindling resources create a host of problems, with water quality being acritical concern. Warmer temperatures and oxygen depletion disrupt the...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
Denmark Technical College
Reimagining the Rural College Landscape
Since 1947, Denmark Technical College has been a lifeline for education and economic mobility in South Carolina’s rural corridor. Established as a training center for African American veterans returning from World War II, Denmark Tech has grown into a proud HBCU with a legacy of service, resilience and transformation. For...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
FOUNDER INSTITUTE
Since Its Inception In 2009, The Founder Institute Has Always Maintained One Guiding Principle; “There Are A Lot Of Big Problems In The World, And We Are Here To Help Founders Build Companies That Will Solve Them.”
OriginsFrom its Silicon Valley origins, Co-founders Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan have built an unparalleled global network of over 5,000 Portfolio Companies, across 200 cities with the largest mentor network in the world of 21,000 Mentors, innovators, investors and ecosystem builders. With chapters on every continent except Antarctica and $30B...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
SMARTGREEN
CONNECTING EVERYTHING
CONNECT TO THE FUTURESMARTGREEN TECHNOLOGY FOR SMARTCITIESWe create solutions to connect devices and sensors to the cities through mesh network infrastructure. 1998 – The Beginning of a New Era and the HistoryThe history of Smartgreen begins in 1998 in Brazil when its founders participated in a project called Rede Omega,...